Merchant wholesalers posted a 0.7% decrease in inventories in January, while sales dropped 2.9% in the month, according to data released yesterday by the Commerce Department.
Inventories of merchant wholesalers slid to $424.2 billion following a revised 1.5% decrease to $427.3 billion in December, originally reported as a 1.4% decrease to $427.5 billion.
Meanwhile, sales of merchant wholesalers fell to $326.1 billion following December’s revised 3.7% decrease to $335.7 billion, originally reported as a 3.6% drop to $336.1 billion.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predicted a 1.0% decrease in wholesale inventories.
